"Target shooting has its place and we have no quarrel with it...There probably will be a quarrel, however, when we go on to say that beyond helping to teach care in the handling of fire-arms, target shooting is of no value whatever in learning the use of the pistol as a weapon of combat.

"The two things are as different from each other as chalk from cheese, and what has been learned from target shooting is best unlearned if proficiency is desired in the use of the pistol under actual fighting conditions."

..........

And in his 1943 book: Kill or Get Killed, Rex Applegate said this about target shooting versus gun fighting.

"Visualize the first-class target shot in the following combat situation: It is dark, he is in an alley, a poorly lighted street, or a room in a building. He can hardly see his gun at arm's length, to say nothing of the sights. His muscles are tense, his nerves keyed up to a fighting pitch.

"Suddenly the enemy starts shooting at him from an unexpected quarter.

"Even if he could see the sights, would he take the time to line them up and fire at the enemy's gun flash? Does he take up the trigger slack and squeeze off the shot as he has been taught to do in target shooting?

"Will he make sure that his feet are properly positioned and that he is breathing correctly? He certainly will not! He will grip his gun convulsively, raise it, point or shove it in the general direction of the enemy, and pull (not squeeze) the trigger.

"...In daylight he will do exactly the same thing....

"It is a matter of record that the average hand gun shooting affray takes place at a distance not exceeding 20 feet...Any distance not exceeding 40 feet can be considered as close quarters in the combat use of the pistol or revolver. Beyond that distance the capabilities of the average individual and of the weapon show a marked decline.

"...By proper training at combat ranges, man-killing accuracy, without the use of sights and with extreme speed, can be acquired by the average soldier or police officer. This can be done in less time, and with less expenditure of ammunition, than is required to become even a fair target shot."

A VERY BRIEF LOOK AT THE "FAIRBAIRN, SYKES, AND APPLEGATE" METHOD:

The shooting method taught by Fairbairn, Sykes and Applegate, goes by the recently developed acronym: FAS.

It was developed based on the results of police combat encounters in China in the early 1900's. The conditions of those encounters mirrored the conditions of such encounters today: close range, poor light, dynamic conditions, high stress, etc..

The grip used is a crushing grip. The index finger is placed on the trigger and the gun is placed in the web of the hand and gripped until it shakes, and then released some. Here is a pic from KOGK.

A two hand Isosceles stance also can be used with the grip, with the body squared to the target and in a crouch.

For one hand shooting, the gun is held in a low ready position and on center with the body, and with the wrist and arm locked. The pistol and arm is then raised from the shoulder. And when on target, a convulsive squeeze is used to fire.

Here is a picture of the low ready.

And here is a picture of the gun in the raised position.

One can also sight-along-the-arm-and-gun to the target and make hits at some distance.

A key is said to be to focus on the spot you wish to hit.

..........

The California Highway Patrol Academy has trained CHP officers to use a Target-Focused Shooting system.

The purpose of the firearms training is to prepare an officer to use firearms in a fight against an adversary in what usually begins as a spontaneous attack initiated by the adversary.

The program is not about shooting. It is about fighting.

Training is not enough to ensure success. Improper training or training that is inappropriate for a given environment can cause injury or death simply because what was trained failed at the moment of truth.

The system "relies on hand eye coordination" and it "emphasizes a proper grip that makes the handgun an extension of the arm, hand and index finger."

It is similar to the shooting method of Fairbairn, Sykes, and Applegate, in that the sights are not used in Close Quarters aiming.

Target-Focused Shooting differs, as it does not rely on body indexing. The firearm is positioned directly under the dominate eye.

The Target-Focused Shooting system was developed by Officer Louis Chiodo.

Here is a picture from Louis Chiodo's web site.

There was an extensive article on Target Focus system in the Oct 2001 issue of Guns And Weapons For LE.

Per the article, in developing the program, Lou researched 25 years of his Border Division's shootings.

"He found that 54% of the CHP officer involved gun battles occurred within six feet. Three quarters of them happened at less than 10 feet. Almost 100% took place within a 15 yard envelope.

"Ninety percent involved suspect movement and while under marginal light conditions. In 60% of the deadly force encounters both combatants were moving."

Louis Chido offers the program via the web. Here is a link to his site: Gunfighters Ltd.

..........

GOING BACK IN HISTORY TO VISIT THE FUTURE.

If we go back almost 200 years into our past, we will find that Lt. Col. Baron De Berenger, felt the same way about target shooting and gun fighting, as Fairbairn, Sykes, and Applegate. In his 1835 book: Helps And Hints - How To - Protect Life And property, the Baron said that little if anything that is useful and transferable, results from pistol shooting at "galleries."

On page 237, we find that: "It certainly is amusing, and it proves cleverness, when we see a person snuff a candle with a pistol ball, or cut a wafer in two, but what is the use of it? since highway robbers, housebreakers, &c. will not allow time for taking a deliberate, or rather slow, aim through sights; in battle it would prove destructive to yourself so to do...

"...Self-defense requires rapid pistol shooting, and therefore precludes a deliberate aim along the barrel; nor can you be certain of your usual steadiness of nerve when you look into the muzzle of a pistol presented at you, and menacing a fatal blaze, although you may make quite sure of it when the harmless blaze of a candle points out the situation of its snuff, as a candidate for your sportive fancy.

"...The practice I advise, is to point suddenly, even with your finger, at objects, when you are alone, and then, shutting one eye, to look along it, before you alter its situation, to ascertain if your aim has been correct or not: by practising this for some time you will acquire much skill before you resort to the same practice with a pistol;...

"...bear in mind that you ought to pull by a motion, or rather pressure, of your finger only, and not by an action of the arm; the middle finger, instead of the forefinger, it to be preferred, (by a young beginner especially,) since the anatomical situation of its muscles is less likely to diverge your pistol by a pull at the trigger, than one from the forefinger,...

"...instead of pulling with the end of the finger, (as with a gun you ought to do;) your passing the whole of the first joint beyond the trigger is also a desirable mode, and on similar grounds."

..........

What the Baron put down in writing some 170+ years ago as his prescription for a natural, fast, and accurate shooting method for use at close quarters, was the shooting method I call AIMED Point Shooting or P&S.

The placing of the index finger along the side of the gun for aiming, worked very well with the dueling pistols of his time, as they were closed at the back.

However, that was to soon change with the advent of the revolver.

In 1836, named Samuel Colt, obtained patents in the United States, France and England for the first practical revolving pistol.

And with the revolver, if the index finger was held against the gun and under the cylinder, it could be exposed to powder flash.

It is my opinion that with the rise of the revolver, and with the "falling out of favor" of dueling in the mid 1800's, the use of P&S was pushed into the background. It was still around in the late 1800's and early 1900's, as mention of it is found in the literature.

The following is from a review of the Mauser C-96 "Broomhandle" Machine Pistol by David M. Fortier. It appeared in the February 2001 issue of Gun World. In it, he said that the C-96 was extremely popular in china.

"....Special commando units were armed entirely with the C-96, and later the selective fire variants, as well as a large beheading sword carried in a leather scabbard on their back. Recognizing the Mauser's weak and strong points, the Chinese developed the following technique for using the C-96 and later the 712. They would hold it sideways (what we would today refer to as "Gangbanger style"), with the index finger lying on the magazine well pointing at the target, and pull the trigger with the middle finger.

THE ADOPTION OF THE 1911 = THE SUPPRESSION OF P&S.

In 1912, the US military, in its instructional manual for the use of the 1911, specifically cautioned against using the P&S method with the 1911.

The reason for suppressing its use, was that the 1911 could jam if the index finger was placed along the side of the gun, and with firing, depressed the slide stop pin which protrudes out from the side of the gun.

I have not shot a 1911 and had that kind of stoppage, but I have had that kind of stoppage when firing another gun with a similar slide stop design.

If what we know today about what really happens in gun fights, was known at the time of the adoption of the 1911, then a modification to it would have been made. I say that because prohibiting the use of an effective shooting method for use in close quarters life and death combat to accommodate a weapon, rather than making a minor modification to that weapon to accommodate those who go in harms way, makes no sense.

There is little doubt in my mind that over the past "100 years" of army and police combat encounters, the "flaw" in the design of the 1911, has resulted in countless injuries to and many deaths of our Armed Forces members and Police.

The 1911 was the standard issue sidearm of the US military from 1911 to 1985.

And as a result of that, the P&S method of natural, fast, and accurate shooting was effectively squelched and lost to general knowledge and use.

However, P&S can be used to enhance both target shooting and most all of the shooting methods now offered for use in gun fighting.

And because it is natural, it can be learned and maintained with little or no training or practice.

Here is what the U.S. Army of today, says about using the index finger for aiming a weapon. It is in Chap. 2, Sect. II of the Field Manual 3-23.35 Combat Training With Pistols M9 AND M11 of June,2003:

"Everyone has the ability to point at an object.

"When a soldier points, he instinctively points at the feature on the object on which his eyes are focused. An impulse from the brain causes the arm and hand to stop when the finger reaches the proper position."

"When the eyes are shifted to a new object or feature, the finger, hand, and arm also shift to this point.

"It is this inherent trait that can be used by a soldier to rapidly and accurately engage targets."

P&S is available and FREE. It can give you an edge which could be the difference between your living or dying in a real life threat situation.

To not opt for it, could cost you your life. Of course, the gun used with it should be appropriate for its use.

Click here for more information on the 1835 book published by Baron De Berenger.

Click here for more information on the 1911 and its adoption.